The North West department of education is being urged to take decisive action by the South African Union of Learners (Saul) to guarantee that no teacher will ever lead a student to commit suicide.
This came about after a Regomoditswe Baloyi, a pupil at Phutha Primary School in Klipgat, North West, died by suicide, reportedly as a result of being made fun of by a teacher.
Oratile Levuno, president of Saul, described the heartbreaking event as a reflection of a toxic environment.
Pupils’ mental health is a top priority
He declared that the department needed to act quickly to put an end to this kind of abuse and give every student’s mental health top priority.
Severe measures like tighter security measures, he claimed, would help to guarantee students’ safety and improve the learning environment for everyone.
The spokesperson for the North West department of education, Mphata Molokwane, told Sunday World that the claim that a teacher played a role in causing Baloyi to commit suicide by making mocking remarks is untrue because the student allegedly failed to bring this up to anyone prior to the incident.
Molokwane claimed that MEC Viola Motsumi was very saddened by the learner’s passing.
According to Molokwane, the department was able to verify that the situation was under control at this time, and the community would keep an eye on things.
In light of this, they have also hired a police officer to patrol the school.
The department is shocked and dismayed
Said Molokwane: “The North West department of education was shocked and dismayed to learn about the death of a grade 7 Phutha Primary School learner.
“We offer our heartfelt sympathies to the family and wish them strength during this terrible time.
“The parents of a learner committed to providing the school and department with a report on what the learner went through once they had a forensic report.”
An investigation into the death of the learner is continuing, according to Molokwane.
